Teamsters call for union support against decertification at Waste Management

This article is sponsored by The Committee to Elect Mike Katcher.

The employees for Waste Management at its transfer station on North Ohio Street aren’t many in number. Just 11 workers are tasked with trash collection and sorting in Kokomo, and they are members of the Teamsters Local 135.

For now.

The bargaining unit faces a vote on Thu., Oct. 31, concerning an attempt to decertify the union, but the Teamsters aren’t taking the attack lying down. It called upon local unions in the community to stand in solidarity with their members, showing that organized labor cares.

And the unions responded. Representatives from UAW Local 1166, AFSCME Local 2185, and IBEW Local 873 joined the Teamsters early on Tuesday morning to meet the Waste Management employees as they arrived for work. The message sent was the workers matter, and they are not alone.

“This is Waste Management's playbook,” said Vance Smith, Business Agent for Teamsters Local 135. “What they do is transfer somebody in about a year before the contract is up, open up the contract, and file for decertification.

“Right now, we have a very close election. If the vote was today, it'd be six to five, so we would win. But that's too close. We have two people that are on the fence, and those are the two people we want to concentrate on.”

Vance alleged that Waste Management has told the employees that their union will not support them, and further that AFSCME Local 2185 would not have their backs. Local 2185 represents workers employed by the City of Kokomo, specifically the trash truck drivers who dump loads at Waste Management’s facility.

In a show of solidarity, Local 2185 President Joe Grippe was on-hand to talk to the Waste Management workers and show that the company isn’t being honest with the employees.

AFSCME Local 2185 President Joe Grippe meets with Waste Management workers on the morning on Oct. 29, 2024.

“The city has a contract (with Waste Management), but I'm sure that we're gonna do everything we can to make it uncomfortable for them,” said Grippe.

Grippe explained that, should the Teamsters choose to strike Waste Management in Kokomo, he believes forcing his members to cross the picket line to dump loads would present a safety risk. That’s something he’s not willing to support.

“They’ll have to bring a supervisor out to cross the line,” said Grippe.

A strike isn’t currently on the agenda. Saving the bargaining unit is the goal. But Teamsters Local 136 President Dustin Roach was at Waste Management as well to assure his members their fight won’t stay in Kokomo.

Roach promised to extend the fight to strike lines across the nation, sending a message to Waste Management and industry in general that the Teamsters are ready to fight for their members, no matter the size of the bargaining unit.

“I'll tell you; we have Waste Management organized all over the country,” said Roach. “And if we have to do something here, it ain't just you guys. We're gonna do what we need to do. We'll extend that picket line anywhere and everywhere we possibly can.”

Roach mentioned that a call to his union counterparts in Chicago could easily result in a work stoppage, bringing Waste Management to the table in a hurry. He cited a 15-day strike the union took against Sysco earlier this year, shutting down workplaces across the west coast in support of Teamsters members in Indiana and Ohio.

It’s part of an aggressive approach the Teamsters have chosen with the election of new leadership over the past 18 months.

“We came in with the bang,” said Roach. “We’ve just been whooping a** for the working class since we got here. We’re building new solidarity. If you guys have demands you're not willing to move from, then we're not willing to move from them, either. We're gonna back you guys up. That's just what it boils down to.

“My message is ‘Protect, preserve, grow.’ How is this going to protect my members? How is this going to grow the union and preserve it?”

Dave Willis, UAW Local 1166 president, stood in support of the Teamsters, even as his own local voted last week not to authorize a strike against Stellantis. Willis called for solidarity with his fellow unionists.

“What the UAW will do is support you guys,” said Willis. “We will encourage Stellantis to contact Waste Management and explain the importance of our relationship with them, with the Teamsters. We'll do whatever we can. It's very important that you guys stay in the union. We need this solidarity in this.”